Centralized wireless network for multi-room large properties

ABSTRACT

Method and devices for use in a centralized wireless network are provided. The centralized wireless network employs a wireless communication protocol to communicate with various devices throughout the network. In addition to communication, the protocol may be used to control and monitor various aspects of the devices throughout the network.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a divisional application of U.S. Pat. No. 11/872,549filed Oct. 15, 2007, which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 60/829,661, filed Oct. 16, 2006, the entire disclosuresof which are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to facility control systems,devices, and methods. More specifically, the present invention providesa centralized wireless network to control and monitor a large number oflow powered devices throughout a large facility.

BACKGROUND

Multi-room or multi-suite facilities such as hotels, apartmentbuildings, office complexes, dormitories, office buildings, classrooms,cruise ships and laboratory facilities, and similar structures have manydevices that, if monitored and/or controlled in a manner not currentlydone, will generate new functionalities in the areas of facilitysecurity, facility operational efficiency, and facility maintenance forthe facility operator and will generate an overall cost reduction infacility management and maintenance.

In a hotel room, for example, individual rooms utilize devices/elementssuch as doors, electronic locks, Do Not Disturb (DND) devices, lights,heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC), safe, minibar,draperies, maid communication devices, room occupancy detection andcommunication, and more and all have a potentially high impact on thehotel operation and guest comfort. Should these devices/elements and/orthe functionality associated with them connect online and communicate inrelative real-time to the appropriate facility management department ormonitoring system, many hours of labor can be saved, immediate responseto possible threats or safety concerns can be executed, and servicelevels may be significantly enhanced. Prior systems have attempted toaddress solutions to some of the above concerns; however, these priorimplementations are limited in performance and expensive.

Another challenge is the fact that some devices, especially locks, aremounted in a way that is not accessible by direct physical wiring. Suchdevices that cannot be directly accessed by wire typically requirebattery operation or a similar type of resident power source. Batteryoperation is expensive over time, particularly for a large facility. Asa result, an efficient way to communicate with those devices isdesirable.

Solutions for communicating with devices such as those that cannot beaccessed by wires have predominately been addressed through combinationsof wired connections, Infrared (IR) communication, or a specific, highlylocalized, RF communication method that is limited on an individualroom-by-room basis. One such example is a network that providescommunication capabilities with each individual room via dedicatedwires, Cable TV, spare telephone wires or a LAN that is physically wiredto each individual room. An in-room hub handles the communication to andfrom the devices in the room via wires where possible, or via IR. As anexample, U.S. Pat. No. 7,061,393, the entire contents of which areincorporated herein by reference, describes a system and method formanaging a multi-unit building with the combination of IR and wiredsensors in a room. Each room is then connected to a floor LAN, which isultimately connected to management servers and systems.

The challenges facing implementation of a system that addresses theforegoing problems and shortcomings are that most facilities alreadyexist and are operational. This ultimately means that a wiredcommunication network is already in place and the implementation ofanother communication network would require the installation of a newwired network. The process of pulling wire is difficult, very expensiveand usually requires the rotation of a number of rooms off line makingthem unusable for an extended period of time, which for retrofit impactsfacility revenue.

One problem with implementing IR as a part of a wireless communicationprotocol is that the IR waves cannot penetrate walls or be used tocommunicate between rooms. In fact, it can be difficult to communicatein the same room around corners. In most instances, IR requires a directunimpeded line of site between devices that are communicating. If theseshortcomings are acceptable, dedicated, closed IR solutions can beimplemented with a proprietary protocol, but such solutions are not veryenergy efficient due to the fact that all devices must be runcontinuously rather than intermittently. These solutions require anin-room hub and Gateway (GW) to communicate to a central server. Inaddition, installation of known existing systems requires persons ofhigh skill and technical knowledge, resulting in high installation andon-going maintenance costs.

SUMMARY

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, an on-linewireless system connected to a wired system is provided. The wirelesssystem may employ a unique adaptation of a known communication protocolutilizing a set of specifications for wireless personal area networking(WPAN). The communication protocol may be characterized by a relativelylow data transmission rate, as compared to other wireless communicationprotocols such as Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) and Bluetooth. Since thecommunication protocol utilizes a relatively low data transmission rate,devices implementing the communication protocol consume very littlepower and are thus characterized by long battery life. One example ofsuch a communication protocol characterized by a low data transmissionrate is the ZigBee standard protocol. ZigBee wireless network devicesmay be adapted to use the ZigBee protocol thereby providing control andthe ability to monitor battery-powered devices in a multi-room facility.Embodiments of the present invention overcome the obstacles ofinstallation complexity, the high cost of wiring, and the high cost andcomplexity of on-going maintenance usually associated with Infrared (IR)communication or localized in-room hubs by allowing all devices(regardless if they are low powered battery operated devices) in an areadefined and/or covered by Radio Frequency (RF) transmissions tocommunicate directly with network routers or gateways or betweenthemselves within the same RF transmission area. Transmission areas mayoverlap thereby allowing one wireless transmission area to communicatewith another transmission area, which in turn allows one wireless deviceto communicate with a number of other devices. The system alsointroduces very low material costs that make the system applicable tomany other commercial applications.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, thecommunication protocol may operate one or more channels in a number ofdifferent frequency bands. For example, the communication protocol mayoperate a number of communication channels in one or more of the 2.4 GHzband, the 915 MHz, and/or the 868 MHz. The data transmission rate mayvary depending upon the frequency band employed. For instance, a datarate of 250 kbit/s per channel may be used in the 2.4 GHz band, a datarate of 40 kbit/s per channel may be utilized in the 915 MHz band, and adata rate of 20 kbit/s per channel may be used in the 868 MHz band. Itshould be appreciated that these bands and frequencies are exemplary andare not intended to limited or exclude other channels and/orfrequencies.

The wireless network may be employed in conjunction with a wired networkthat can facilitate higher data transfer rates. The wireless network, inone embodiment, may comprise a ZigBee communication network, whereas thewired network may comprise an IP network such as a LAN or the Internet.The wireless network may utilize a predetermined architecture where itattempts to minimize/optimize each transmission path such that lessnoise is introduced and wireless transmissions can maintain theirintegrity. In one embodiment, if a message is transmitted wirelessly andsome or the entire message is lost, the wireless device that should havereceived the message may request that the transmitting device transmitthe message again. Therefore, the sending wireless device may berequired to maintain a certain number of previously sent messages in aportion of memory, preferably buffer type memory, such that if it isrequested that a message is resent, the sending wireless device canquickly access the message from memory and retransmit the message to theintended recipient.

It is typically very important to ensure that all transmitted messagesor control signals are received at their final destination. Toaccommodate such a need, a central server may be employed to monitor thecommunications between various wireless devices. The central server maydetermine if a message is missing from a set of messages by analyzingthe received messages and determining if there is some logical error inthe messages that were received and the order in which they werereceived. Of course, the messages may be time stamped to facilitateeasier analysis and therefore the messages do not necessarily need toarrive in the order in which they were transmitted. However, if amessage is never received, then the central server may request that themessage be transmitted again. The central server may also be responsiblefor reassembling the messages and determining what actions should betaken to manage the system as a whole.

The Summary is neither intended nor should it be construed as beingrepresentative of the full extent and scope of the present invention.The present invention is set forth in various levels of detail and theSummary as well as in the attached drawings and in the detaileddescription of the invention and no limitation as to the scope of thepresent invention is intended by either the inclusion or non inclusionof elements, components, etc. in the Summary. Additional aspects of thepresent invention will become more readily apparent from the detaileddescription, particularly when taken together with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting a management network in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting aspects of a property managementservice used in connection with a centralized wireless network inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting a centralized wireless networktopology in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram depicting aspects of an end device inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram depicting aspects of a router in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram depicting aspects of a gateway in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for installing agateway in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for installing arouter in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for installing anend device in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for choosing aparent device in accordance with embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for recoveringfrom and end device failure in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 12 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for recoveringfrom a router failure in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for recoveringfrom a gateway failure in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for recoveringfrom a server failure in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 15 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for selecting awireless communication channel in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 16 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for trackingemployee efficiency in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 17 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for checking-into a room in a multi-room facility in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 18 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for checking-outof a room in a multi-room facility in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 19 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for managingroom state information in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for determininga state of a room in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 21 is a flow diagram depicting aspects of a method for managingenergy consumption in a room in accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention are directed toward devices andmethods of using such devices in a wireless network. Although wellsuited for use in systems and methods employing RF communicationprotocols, such as the ZigBee protocol, embodiments of the presentinvention may be suitable for use in systems employing other low powerconsumption communication protocols including, without limitation,wireless USB, Z-Wave, and variations of the ZigBee protocol known andnot yet developed.

FIG. 1 depicts a management system 100 in accordance with at least someembodiments of the present invention. The management system 100generally comprises a wireless network 104 and a wired network 108. Themanagement system 100, in one embodiment, is a centralized control andmonitoring network capable of managing a multi-room facility. Inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention, the wirelessnetwork 104 interfaces with the wired network 108 through a hub 112. Thehub 112 provides for the connection of a number of gateways 116 to acentral server 138. Of course, a hub 112 is not necessary and one ormore gateways 116 may be connected directly to or communicate directlywith the central server 138. Although only one hub 112 is depicted inFIG. 1, one skilled in the art will appreciate that a greater number ofhubs 112 may be employed within the management system 100.

Included within the wireless network 104 are a number of wirelessrouters 120. The wireless routers 120 may be employed to provide awireless communications between one or more end devices 124 and agateway 116. In one embodiment, the routers 120 are used as a signalpassing mechanism. In other words, a wireless router 120 is employedwhen the distance between a gateway 116 and an end device 124 is toogreat for adequate wireless communications. Therefore, the wirelessrouter 120 may be utilized as a signal amplifier of sorts. As can beappreciated by one of skill in the art, a signal transmitted from an enddevice 124 may pass through one or more wireless routers 120 beforereaching a gateway 116. Likewise, a signal transmitted from a gateway116 may pass through one or more wireless routers 120 before reaching anend device 124. In one embodiment, the transmission range of wirelessend devices 124 employing a power saving wireless communicationprotocol, such as the ZigBee protocol, is between about 5 ft and 300 ft,depending upon the environment in which the end device 124 is situated.If the distance between a wireless end device 124 and a gateway 116 isso great that consistent and reliable communications could not beachieved, then the wireless end device 124 communicates with a router120 which either communicates with the gateway 116 or another router120.

A number of wireless end devices 124 may be employed in the managementsystem 100. Examples of end devices 124 that would be suitable for usein a multi-room facility, such as a hotel for example, include amini-bar end device, a safe end device, an access end device, a lightswitch end device, a door switch end device, a sensor end device, athermostat end device, a window switch end device, a window curtain orblind switch end device, or any other known end device that may be usedto monitor and/or control various parameters associated with a room in amulti-room facility.

One or more end devices 124 may be associated with a common room 130,134 and each of the end devices 124 may be used to monitor and/orcontrol parameters associated with that room 130, 134. As noted above,there may be a number of rooms 130 a-N, 134 within a multi-roomfacility. Each room 130 may comprise similar end devices 124 to otherrooms 130 within the multi-room facility. Alternatively, some rooms 130may include different and/or additional end devices 124 when compared toother rooms within the multi-room facility. A room 130 may or may not beequipped with a wireless router 120 depending upon the size of the room130 and other considerations. As an example, the first room 130 a may bethought of as a first room network comprising a number of end devices124 dedicated to monitoring and/or controlling various aspects of thefirst room 130 a. The end devices 124 within the first room 130 a maycommunicate with a wireless router 120 on a floor network 128 (i.e., awireless router 120 located within a hallway or common area thatreceives/transmits data to/from a number of different room 130 networks.Alternatively, the second room 130 b is depicted as comprising anetwork, which includes a wireless router 120. The wireless router 120in the second room 130 b network may be used to communicate with the enddevices within the second room 130 b as well as end devices from anotherroom 130 depending upon the proximity of the wireless router 120 to theend devices 124 in the other room 130. The wireless router 120 in thesecond room 130 b network may communicate with another wireless router120 in the floor network 128 as depicted. Alternatively, the wirelessrouter 120 in the second room 130 b may communicate directly with agateway 116 or with a hub 112.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, one or moredirect room networks 134 may be employed. A direct room network 134generally comprises a gateway 116 that communicates with the wirednetwork 108. The direct room network 134 may comprise one or more enddevices 124, depending upon the location and needs associated with theroom. Although the room 130, 134 networks are depicted as having eitherone or three end devices 124, one skilled in the art will appreciatethat a greater or lesser number of end devices 124 may be associatedwith a room 130, 134 network.

The wireless communication protocol employed in the wireless network 104is preferably a low power consumption type communication protocol thatdoes not utilize transmission of continuous communications betweendevices. In one embodiment, the ZigBee communication protocol isemployed in the wireless network 104. The connection between devices inthe wireless network 104, in one embodiment, is wireless using IEEE802.15.4., although other standards could be used as well. The wirelessrouters 120 act as repeaters or extenders and help increase the distancebetween a gateway 116 and end device 124, without compromisingcommunication quality.

In one embodiment, each wireless router 120 may communicate with otherwireless devices (e.g., a gateway 116, a different wireless router 120,and/or an end device 124) via the same communication channel. This wayeach wireless device in the wireless network 104 can know a priori whatchannel should be searched for available wireless communication devices.In an alternative embodiment, a first wireless router 120, or otherwireless device, may communicate with associated wireless devices via afirst channel while a second wireless router 120, or other wirelessdevice, may communicate with its associated wireless devices via asecond different channel. In one embodiment the first and secondwireless router 120, or other wireless device, may begin bycommunicating on the same channel. However, as the communications beginto increase on that channel, one of the wireless routers 120, or otherwireless device, may determine that the noise on the channel isexceeding a particular threshold and that wireless router 120, or otherwireless device, may change channels. Alternatively, depending upon theamount of intelligence built into the wireless device, the wirelessdevice may advise a controller associated with the central server 138 ofthe noise level. The controller may then instruct the wireless deviceand all other wireless devices within the same wireless communicationrange to change channels.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a beacon modeof communication may be employed in the wireless network 104. Whileemploying the beacon mode of communication, the gateway 116 transmits abeacon at predetermined intervals. The beacon is a request for data fromother wireless communication devices (e.g., wireless routers 120 and/orend devices 124). The wireless communication devices look for messagesaddressed to it. When a properly address beacon is received by awireless device, the wireless device transmits any required data to thegateway 116. Additionally, upon receiving a beacon a wireless router 120may generate another beacon for its downstream or children communicationdevices. In such a configuration, the gateway 116 dictates a schedulefor the next beacon so that the wireless communication devices, and thegateway 116, can sleep in between transmission times. This particularembodiment is useful to conserve power in configurations where thegateway 116 and/or wireless routers 120 are internally powered by abattery or the like.

In accordance with alternative embodiments of the present invention, anon-beacon mode of communication may be employed in the wireless network104. In a non-beacon mode of communication, all parent devices remainawake and ready to receive data from children wireless communicationdevices. In this particular embodiment, an end device 124 will waituntil some sort of activity is detected in association with the enddevice 124. For example, if activity is detected with the mini-bar, thenthe mini-bar end device 124 will generate a signal for transmission to awireless router 120 or gateway 116 representing that mini-bar activityhas been detected. In the absence of activity, the end devices 124 waitfor control messages from their parent devices in a power saving state.However, since the wireless routers 120 and gateway 116 have to remainawake and ready to receive data from their children, more power isusually required to support the wireless routers 120 and gateways 116.

The wired network 108 generally comprises the hub 112, the centralserver 138, and a database 140. As noted above, the utilization of a hub112 may be optional depending upon the type and number of gateways 116employed. The central server 138 manages all control and monitoringrelated to data transmitted to/from the end devices 124 in the wirelessnetwork 104. In one embodiment, the central server 138 is connected toone or more gateways 116 via a wired connection. In one embodiment thewired network 108 employs a known type of communication protocol such asEthernet or the like that has a higher data capacity than the wirelessnetwork 104. Data transmitted from a gateway 116 to the central server138 may be stored in the database 140 for future reference or reportingneeds. The central server 138 may also be used to automatically manageand control conditions within a number of rooms 130, 134 based on inputprovided to the central server 138 by end devices 124 within the room130, 134. The term “server” as used herein should be understood toinclude any type of dedicated processing unit including a single server,a collection of servers, a personal computer, a laptop, or the like.

FIG. 2 depicts further aspects of a management system 100 in accordancewith at least some embodiments of the present invention. The managementsystem 100 may also be employed as an access control system inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. In order tofunction as an access control system, the management system 100generally comprises the access end device 124 for communicating with oneor more of an access credential, a reporting card 208, and a controldevice 212. A user may employ an access credential 204 to gain access toan asset within a room 130, 134 or to gain access to the room 130, 134itself. Examples of assets that may be protected by an access end device124 and accessed with an access credential 204 include, withoutlimitation, a room 130, 134, a safe, a mini-bar, a television, apassword-protected computer, a financial account such as a bank orcredit card account, and the like. The access end device 124 maycomprise an access control mechanism, such as a lock, thatpermits/restricts access to an asset based on the access credential 204that is presented to the access end device 124.

The access credential 204 may comprise any type of convenient formfactor such as a smartcard, proximity card, passport, key fob, cellularphone, portable computer and Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). Theaccess credential 204 may communicate with the access end device 124 viausing Radio Frequency (RF) signals at a frequency of about 125 kHz or13.56 MHz depending upon the type of access credential 204 employed.Additionally, the access credential 204 may use the Near FieldCommunication (NFC) protocol in the event that the access credential 204comprises an NFC enabled device such as a cellular phone, PDA, portablecomputer or the like. The access credential 204 contains user specificdata that is read by the access end device 124 and used to verify thatthe access permissions of the holder of the access credential 204 allowthe user access to an asset protected by the access end device 124.

The reporting card 208 may also communicate with the access end device124 using RF signals at a similar frequency to the access credential204. Property personnel, or even end users such as hotel guests, use thereporting card 208 to update and report the state of a room 130, 134,including features or components within the room, back to the centralserver 138. A reporting card 208 may include an icon/picture on it thatindicates its functionality. The use of icons/pictures on the reportingcard 208 helps minimize or eliminate the amount of training required touse the reporting card 208. Once property personnel (such as a maid) hasdiscovered an item he/she wishes to report, the personnel retrieves theappropriate reporting card 208 and presents it to the access end device124. When the reporting card 208 is presented to the access end device124, the access end device 124 may generate and send a message to thecentral server 138 relating to the type of reporting card 208 that waspresented to the access end device 124. Such messages may also bepresented at the front desk as well as shown or reported to a departmentmanager terminal or be sent to a service person via an SMS or the likeas will be described in detail below.

Possible functionalities of reporting cards 208 include, but are notlimited to, room 130, 134 cleaned/serviced, major room 130, 134 issue(i.e., room cannot be cleaned and required a high level manager to viewthe room and guide its service process), Do Not Disturb (DND), safelocked and guest has departed, mechanical problem, TV not functioning,Internet/phone problem, bathroom problem, broken furniture, mini-baropened and requires service, bell service complete, security guardmonitor, service complete (i.e., one or more of the problems describedabove have been resolved), and so on. Each of the problems describedabove may require the assistance of different personnel depending uponthe nature of the problem. Therefore, the type of reporting card 208that is presented to the access end device 124 may dictate to whom andby what modality a particular message will be sent.

The control device 212 is another external device that can be used tocommunicate with the access end device 124 or any other wirelesscommunication device such as other end devices 124, a wireless router120, and/or gateway 116. The control device 212 may also communicatewith the wireless communication devices via RF signals transmitted atone of the above-mentioned frequencies. A user may present the controldevice 212 to a wireless communication device to open up that wirelesscommunication device to discovery and association with possible childrennodes. Alternatively, the control device 212 can be used to request thata wireless communication device begin searching for a parent node in thewireless network 104.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, one or acombination of the access credential 204, reporting card 208, andcontrol device 212 may be presented to the access end device 124.Depending upon the apparatus presented to the access end device 124, theaccess end device 124 may generate a message to send through thewireless network 104 to the central server 138. Again, depending uponthe type of message received at the central server 138, the centralserver 138 may generate a message to transmit to one or more of thedatabase 140, a property management system 216, an email server 220, aShort Message Service (SMS) server 224, communication server 228. Thevarious servers in communication with the central server 138 aregenerally used to manage the property and respond to events reported atthe access end device 124.

For example, the property management system 216 may include an accesscontrol host or control panel capable of determining if a particularaccess credential 204 has permission to access an asset protected by theaccess end device 124. Of course, in some embodiments, the access enddevice 124 may be capable of determining whether the access credential204 is allowed access to an asset protected by the access end device 124independent of the property management system 216. Additionally, theproperty management system 216 may be enabled to manage and track theworkflow and efficiency of employees in the facility. The propertymanagement system 216 may further be equipped with a user interface thatallows a system administrator to help manage the network 100.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the propertymanagement system 216 is further capable of identifying what type, ifany, maintenance is required for a given room 130, 134 based on thereporting card 208 presented to the access end device 124. Afteridentifying the type of maintenance that is required, the propertymanagement system 216 may identify the type of maintenance personnelthat should be requested to complete the maintenance and how thatparticular maintenance personnel can be contacted. After making thatdetermination, the property management system 216 may send a request toone or more of the email server 220, SMS server 224, and communicationserver 228 to have the message transmitted to the identified personnel'scommunication device 236 via a communication network 232. In otherwords, the property management system 216 may be responsible foridentifying how to contact maintenance personnel and requesting theappropriate server to generate and send a message to the maintenancepersonnel. As an example, one type of maintenance personnel (e.g., anelectrician) may be reachable by email, phone, and SMS, whereas anothertype of maintenance personnel (e.g., a locksmith) may only be reachablepager. The property management system 216 identifies the best way inwhich to contact a particular maintenance personnel, which may be basedupon user preferences, and causes a message to be sent to themaintenance personnel by that modality. This provides the propertymanagement system 216 a greater chance of contacting maintenancepersonnel when they are needed.

The email server 220 is used to manage email messages for variouscommunication devices 236 connected to the communication network 232.The property management system 216 can use the email server 220 to sendemail messages to one or more communication devices 236. The emailserver 220 may also be used to transmit an email message from onecommunication device 236 to another communication device 236.

The SMS server 224 is similar to the email server 220 in that the SMSserver 224 supports all SMS messages being transmitted across thecommunication network 232. Again, the property management system 216 mayemploy the SMS server 224 to send SMS messages to a number ofcommunication devices 236 via the communication network 232. Also, thecommunication devices 236 are capable of communicating with one anothervia SMS message through the SMS server 224.

The communication server 228 supports all other type of communicationsbetween communication devices 236 themselves and between the propertymanagement system 216 and the communication devices 236. Examples ofcommunications that are supported by the communication server 228include voice calls (analog and digital), VoIP calls, video calls, andthe like. The communication server 228 may comprise a Private BrancheXchange (PBX) (or other local switching office), which interconnectssome of the communication devices 236 to the communication network 232.Alternatively, the communication server 228 may comprise a dedicatedserver for transferring and/or connecting calls to/from thecommunications devices 236 connected thereto.

The communication network 232 may comprise any type of informationtransportation medium and may use any type of protocols to transportmessages between endpoints (e.g., communication devices 236 and propertymanagement system 216). The communication network 232 may include wiredand/or wireless communication technologies. The Internet is an exampleof the communication network 232 that constitutes an IP networkconsisting of many computers and other communication devices 236 locatedall over the world, which are connected through many telephone systemsand other means. Other examples of the communication network 232include, without limitation, a standard Plain Old Telephone System(POTS), an Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN), the PublicSwitched Telephone Network (PSTN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a WideArea Network (WAN), and any other type of packet-switched orcircuit-switched network known in the art. In addition, it can beappreciated that the communication network 232 need not be limited toany one network type, and instead may be comprised of a number ofdifferent networks and/or network types. The communication network 232may further include routers (not shown) and proxy servers (not shown)for transmitting data across the communication network 232.

The communication devices 236 may be packet-switched and/orcircuit-switched and can include, for example, IP phones, PersonalDigital Assistants or PDAs, Personal Computers or PCs, laptops,packet-based H.320 video phones and conferencing units, packet-basedvoice messaging and response units, packet-based traditional computertelephony adjuncts, conventional wired or wireless telephones, cellularphones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), and the like. In accordancewith embodiments of the present invention, a communication device 236may also contain functionality to act as an access credential 204.

As noted above, a log of all messages received and transmitted by thecentral server 138 may be stored in the database 140 for record keepingpurposes. Additionally, messages transmitted and/or received by otherservers such as the property management system 216, email server 220,SMS server 224, and communication server 228 may also be stored in amessage log on the database 140. The log of messages may be accessed ata later time to determine if illegal activity has occurred or to trackand monitor the efficiency of various maintenance personnel.

As can be appreciated by one of skill in the art, a greater or lessernumber of servers may be employed in the management system 100.Moreover, one server may comprise the functionality of two or more ofthe servers described above.

Referring now to FIG. 3, a topology of the wireless network 104 will bedescribed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the presentinvention. A number of different wireless network 104 topologies may beemployed to obtain benefits provided by embodiments of the presentinvention. Examples of such topologies include a star topology, apeer-to-peer topology, a mesh topology, and combinations thereof. Thetopology depicted in FIG. 3 comprises a gateway 116 in communicationwith a first router layer 304. A router 120 in the first router layer304 may be connected to a router 120 in a second router layer 308.Although only two router layers 304, 308 are depicted, one skilled inthe art will appreciate that a greater or lesser number of router layersmay be employed. In one embodiment, no router layers are required aseach end device 124 communicates directly with the gateway 116. Inalternative embodiments, a large number of routers 120 may be employedthereby requiring a large number of router layers.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a combinationof a mesh network between end devices 124 and routers 120 and a starnetwork between routers 120 and a gateway 116 is utilized. A gateway 116may be limited in the number of routers 120 or other wireless devicesthat it can communicate with. For instance, the gateway 116 may only beallowed to communicate with five end devices, otherwise communicationswould become too congested and possibly noisy. Likewise, routers 120 inthe first layer 304 may be limited in the number of wireless devicesthat they can communicate with. As an example, the routers 120 in thesecond layer 308 may only be allowed to communicate with six wirelessdevices including their parent device (i.e., the router 120 in the firstlayer 304). In the event that a router 120 is only communicating withend devices 124, the router 120 may be allowed to communicate with morewireless devices. In accordance with one embodiment, each router 120 maybe allowed to communicate with up to fifteen end devices 124. In theevent that a router 120 is communicating with both end devices 124 andanother router 120, the maximum number of end devices 124 that therouter 120 can communicate with might decrease.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, each end device124 communicates with only one router 120 or gateway 116. In otherwords, an end device 124 is limited to having one parent wirelessdevice. Status and other activity information flow from a child deviceupward to a parent device. Conversely, control signals and/or requestsfor data flow from a parent device to a child device. As noted above, arouter 120 may be in communication with a number of end devices 124and/or routers 120, which means that a router 120 may communicate with anumber of children devices. The router 120 sends control data to itschildren devices and receives status and activity information from itschildren devices. However, in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention, each router 120 is limited to having one parent wirelessdevice, which may be a router 120 or a gateway 116. It therefore followsthat messages transmitted by an end device 124 will always follow thesame path through the wireless network 104 en route to the gateway 116,unless of course a router 120 and/or gateway 116 fails, in which casethe message path may require alteration. Similarly, control messagestransmitted to an end device 124 will also follow the same path throughthe wireless network 104.

It should be noted that the end devices 124, routers 120, and gateways116 are not necessarily room related and end devices 124 in the same ordifferent rooms can be connected to the same or different routers 120 orgateways 116 depending on the structure of the network, the distancebetween wireless devices, and the size of the room.

With reference now to FIG. 4, components of an end device 124, such as aZigBee enabled end device 124, are depicted in block diagram form inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention. The components ofthe end device 124 may include an input 404 for interfacing with a useror the environment about the end device 124. The input 404 may compriseuser outputs as well as user inputs. Examples of user inputs include,without limitation, keyboards, keypads, touch screens, touch pads, andmicrophones. Examples of user outputs include, but are not limited to,speakers, display screens (including touch screen displays), andindicator lights. Furthermore, it can be appreciated by one of skill inthe art that the user input may be combined or operated in conjunctionwith a user output. An example of such an integrated user input and useroutput is a touch screen display that can both present visualinformation to a user and receive input selections from a user.

In addition to user inputs and outputs, the input 404 may comprise asensor or the like for monitoring the environment about the end device124. Examples of sensors that may be included in the input 404 comprisea temperature sensor, a motion detector, a pressure sensor, anaccelerometer, IR sensors, and so on. Activity detected by the input 404may be included in a message that is ultimately sent to the centralserver 138.

The input 404 may also include functionality to facilitatecommunications with other technologies such as the access credential204, reporting card 208, and control device 212. The input 404 maycomprise an RF transceiver for communicating with a proximity card,smart card, NFC enabled device, or the like. Additionally oralternatively, the input 404 may comprise magnetic stripe readingtechnology that allows the access end device 124 to communicate withmagnetic form factors of the access credential 204, reporting card 208,and control device 212. The input 404 may also be equipped to readbiometric data from a user in the event that an access control decisionrequires such data.

The components of the end device 124 may also include a controller 408comprising a processor capable of executing program instructions.Accordingly, the controller 408 may include any general-purposeprogrammable processor, digital signal processor (DSP) or controller forexecuting application programming. Alternatively, the controller 408 maycomprise a specially configured application specific integrated circuit(ASIC). The controller 408 generally functions to run programming codeimplementing various functions performed by the end device 124.

An end device 124 may additionally include memory 412 for use inconnection with the execution of programming by the controller 408 andfor the temporary or long-term storage of data or program instructions.The memory 412 may comprise solid-state memory resident, removable orremote in nature, such as FLASH, DRAM and SDRAM. In certain embodiments,the memory 412 may be integral to the controller 408. The memory 412 maybe volatile and/or non-volatile memory.

The memory 412 may further be used as data storage for applicationprogramming and/or access control data. In addition, an operatingapplication 416 may be stored in the memory 412. It should further beappreciated that the programs and data that may be maintained in thememory 412 can comprise software, firmware or hardware logic, dependingon the particular implementation of the memory 412. The operatingapplication 416 is implemented by the controller 408 to control thebasic functionality of the end device 124. For example, the operatingapplication 416 is used to coordinate communications with other wirelessdevices. The operating application 416 may also be used to make and/orimplement access control decisions, in the event that the end device 124comprises an access end device 124. The operating application 416 mayvary from one type of end device 124 to the next, depending upon thetypes of input 404 included in the end device 124 as well as theintended functionality of the end device 124. Furthermore, the operatingapplication 416 may enable the end device 124 to communicate with otherwireless devices via an agreed upon communication protocol such as theZigBee protocol. Furthermore, if encryption of messages is required, theoperating application 416 may enable the encryption/decryption ofmessage sent and received by the end device 124.

Also included within the memory 412 may be a transmission log 420. Thetransmission log 420 may be used to store messages between transmissiontimes as well as maintain a historical account of messages that havebeen sent. This way, if a message is not received by a parent device,the parent device may request that the end device 124 recall therequested message from the transmission log 420 and resend thepreviously transmitted and lost message. In accordance with embodimentsof the present invention, one function of the transmission log 420 is tostore data in between previously agreed upon transmission times. In theevent that a beacon mode wireless network 104 is employed, messages andother data are maintained in the transmission log 420 until a beacon isreceived from a parent device. Alternatively, in the event that anon-beacon mode wireless network 104 is employed, the transmission log420 serves as a storage location for messages sent in the event that theparent device does not receive such messages. In one embodiment of thepresent invention, the number of messages maintained in the transmissionlog 420 may be limited. For instance, a capacity of 100 messages may beimposed on the transmission log 420. Under these circumstances, the last100 transmitted messages may be stored in the transmission log 420 whileall other messages are deleted from memory 412.

The end device 124 may further include a clock 424 for coordinating thetransmission activities of the end device 124 with its parent. Inaccordance with at least some embodiments of the invention, the clockmay be used as a timer rather than a clock to determine when the enddevice 124 should wake up and begin transmitting data. Aftertransmission, the end device 124 can go back into a sleep mode where itwaits either for the next transmission time or for the detection of someactivity via the input 404. By utilizing a sleep mode the amount ofenergy required to power the end device 124 over time can be greatlyreduced when compared to continuous transmission end devices 124.

The clock 424 may also be used to timestamp messages as a mechanism tohelp ensure messages are being properly transmitted across the wirelessnetwork 104 as well as to help ensure the order of the messages isproper when being analyzed at the central server 138. The order in whichmessages are sent is important as often the determination of the stateof a room depends upon the order of messages. Therefore, a series ofmessages each having a time stamp can be reordered at the receiving endif the order of the messages was somehow mixed up. Additionally, thetime stamps can be used to simultaneously analyze data from a number ofdifferent end devices 124 since the time it takes a message to traversethe wireless network 104 from one end device 124 to the central server138 is not guaranteed to be the same as the transmission time foranother end device 124. Accordingly, the time stamps can be used to lookat the time each message was generated relative to other messages as apart of determining the room state and/or making determinations as tohow the room should be managed.

In accordance with at least some embodiments, the end device 124 furthercomprises an internal power source 428. The power source 428 generatesthe power to allow the components of the end device 124 to functionproperly. Examples of an internal power source 428 include, but are notlimited to, batteries, a solar cell, and any other known type ofautonomous power source. Of course, in some embodiments, the powersource 428 may afford for power to be supplied from an external source.In such an embodiment, the power source 428 may comprise a rectifier orpower converter. However, in preferred embodiments, the power source 428is internal making installation of the end device 124 relatively easywhen compared to having to install an end device 124 requiring a powerconverter.

An end device 124 may also include one or more wireless communicationinterfaces 432. Examples of communication interfaces 432 include, butare not limited to, an RF broadcast transceiver, an opticalcommunication interface, or wireless communication interfaces. The enddevice 124 utilizes the wireless communication interface 432 tocommunicate with other wireless devices such as the end device's 124parent.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the end device124 may further include an actuator 436 for implementing actionsassociated with various control signals received from a parent wirelessdevice. Furthermore, the actuator 436 may be used to control access toan asset in the event that the end device 124 comprises an access enddevice 124. Examples of an actuator 436 include a lock, an electricaland/or mechanical switch, a computer protection program, and so on. Thecontroller 408 controls the actuator 436 based upon the control messagesreceived from the parent of the end device 124.

FIG. 5 depicts a wireless router 120 in accordance with at least someembodiments of the present invention. The wireless router 120 acts as amessage-transferring agent between wireless devices. The wireless router120 generally comprises a wireless communication interface 504, acontroller 508, memory 512 including a communication log 516, a powersource 520, and a clock 524. The wireless communication interface 504 issubstantially similar to the wireless communication interface 432 of theend device 124. The wireless communication interface 504 permits therouter 120 to receive data from a child device and send the same data onto its parent device. Likewise, messages transmitted from the router's120 parent device may be received at the wireless communicationinterface 504 and transmitted by the wireless communication interface504 to a destination child device. In one embodiment, the wirelesscommunication interface 504 is equipped to send and receive RF signals,although other wireless communication modalities can be envisioned.

The controller 508 of the router 120 may comprise a processor capable ofexecuting program instructions for controlling the functionality of therouter 120. Accordingly, the controller 508 may include anygeneral-purpose programmable processor, digital signal processor (DSP)or controller for executing application programming. Alternatively, thecontroller 508 may comprise a specially configured application specificintegrated circuit (ASIC). The controller 508 generally functions tocause a received message to be retransmitted to the appropriate wirelessdevice.

Similar to the end device 124, the router 120 may additionally includememory 512 for use in connection with the execution of programming bythe controller 508 and for the temporary or long-term storage of data.The memory 512 may comprise solid-state memory resident, removable orremote in nature, such as FLASH, DRAM and SDRAM. In certain embodiments,the memory 512 may be integral to the controller 508. The memory 512 maybe volatile and/or non-volatile memory. In accordance with oneembodiment of the present invention, the memory 512 comprises acommunication log 516. The communication log 516 may be used to store arecord of previously sent messages. Alternatively or in addition, thecommunication log 516 may be used to store messages during periods ofinactivity or when one or more wireless devices have failed in thewireless network 104. In still other embodiments, the memory 512 may beused as a buffer to temporarily store received messages prior toretransmission.

The power source 520 is used to provide power to the various componentsof the router 120. The power source 520 may comprise an internal powersource, a rectifier for an external power source, or combinationsthereof. In the event that the power source 520 comprises a purelyinternal power source, such as batteries, then the wireless network 104may be operated in a beacon mode. Alternatively, if perpetual power isavailable to the router 120 via an external power source, then thewireless network 104 may be operated in a non-beacon mode since powerconservation for the router 120 is not as large a restraint.

The clock 524 is used by the router 120 to coordinate communicationsand/or to timestamp messages. As noted above, in some embodiments therouter 120 may need to know when to wake up in order to properly relaymessages received from a child device to a parent device and vice versa.Moreover, the router 120 may timestamp messages to help a systemadministrator determine whether the wireless network 104 is functioningproperly or if a number of wireless devices should change channels.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram depicting components of a gateway 116 inaccordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention.Components that may be provided in the gateway comprise, withoutlimitation, a wireless communication interface 604, a controller 608,memory 612 including a communication log 616, a clock 620, a powersource 624, and a network interface 628. The wireless communicationinterface 604 permits the gateway 116 to communicate with its childrenwireless devices (e.g., router 120 and/or end device 124). In oneembodiment, the wireless communication interface 604 is equipped to sendand receive RF signals via a communication protocol such as the ZigBeeprotocol.

The controller 608 of the gateway 116 may comprise a processor capableof executing program instructions for controlling the functionality ofthe gateway 116. Similar to the controllers of the router 120 and enddevice 124, the controller 608 may include any general-purposeprogrammable processor, digital signal processor (DSP) or controller forexecuting application programming. Alternatively, the controller 608 maycomprise a specially configured application specific integrated circuit(ASIC). The controller 608 generally functions to cause a receivedmessage to be retransmitted to the appropriate wireless device.

Memory 612 may be provided for use in connection with the execution ofprogramming by the controller 608 and for the temporary or long-termstorage of data. The memory 612 is similar to the memory 512 of therouter 120 in a number of respects. For instance, the memory 612 maycomprise solid-state memory resident, removable or remote in nature,such as FLASH, DRAM and SDRAM. Other qualities of the memory 612 may besimilar to the memories described above.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, the memory 612comprises a communication log 616. The communication log 616 is used tostore messages already transmitted or not yet transmitted across thewireless network 104. The communication logs 420, 516, 616 shouldcomparable in that messages sent from a gateway 116, through a router120 to an end device 124 can be recorded in each communication log 420,516, 616. A comparison of communication logs can be performed todetermine if any messages have been lost or otherwise unaccounted for.In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, the centralserver 138 or property management system 216 may request variouswireless devices to transmit contents of the communication logs so thata transmission quality audit can be performed. Alternatively, if thecentral server 138 or property management system 216 think that amessage may have been lost based on the order of received messages orthey would like to confirm that a control message was received, then thecontents of the communication logs can be requested as well.

The clock 620 is used by the gateway in a similar fashion to the clocksof the router 120 and end device 124. In accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention, the clock 620 helps to coordinate communicationsand/or to timestamp messages. The clock 620 may also be used by thegateway 116 to help determine when a beacon should be sent, assumingthat a beacon mode wireless network 104 is employed.

The power source 624 is used to provide power to the various componentsof the gateway 116. In a preferred embodiment, the power source 624comprises a rectifier for conversion of an external power source into auseable form of power for the components of the gateway 116. Of course,in alternative embodiment an internal power source, such as a back uppower source, may be used alone or in combination with the rectifier.Examples of a suitable power source 624 for the gateway 116 include, butare not limited to, Power over Ethernet, a 12 VDC power supply, a 6 VDCpower supply, or the like.

The network interface 628 is used to connect the wireless network 104 tothe wired network 108. Examples of network interfaces 628 include, butare not limited to, a network interface card, a modem, a wired telephonyport, a serial or parallel data port, radio frequency broadcastreceiver, a USB port, or other wired or wireless network interfaces. Inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention, the networkinterface 628 comprises an Ethernet port that connects the gateway 116to an IP network.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram depicting a method of installing a gateway 116in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention.Initially, a gateway 116 is physically installed at the desired location(step 704). An appropriate location for a gateway 116 may include anylocation where the gateway 116 will have connectivity to a wired network108. After the gateway 116 has been physically installed and connectedto the wired network 108, the gateway 116 communicates its address tothe central server 138 and another other server that may require suchinformation (step 708). The gateway 116 address may be in the form of anIP address or other known routing address that allows the central server138 to know how messages destined for the gateway 116 should beaddressed or directed. The gateway 116 address may also contain thephysical location of the gateway 116. In accordance with embodiments ofthe present invention, the central server 138 maintains a table ofgateway 116 addresses in memory of the server and/or in the database140. The table of addresses may be referenced when the central server138 sends a message to a particular gateway 116. The address may beincluded in packet headers when transmitting the message across thewired network 108.

Once the gateway 116 address has been received by the central server138, a name is assigned to the gateway 116 (step 712). The name may beautomatically assigned to the gateway 116 by the central server 138 orby a system administrator. The name assigned to the gateway 116 mayreflect the physical location of the gateway 116 in accordance with someembodiments of the present invention. For example, the gateway 116 mayreceive a name such as “third level gateway” or “atrium gateway.” Theassigned name may be stored in association with the gateway 116 addresssuch that the address can be retrieved by knowing the gateway name andvice versa.

With a name assigned to the gateway 116, the gateway 116 may be openedfor child discovery (step 716). To associate with its children,regardless of whether the children comprise a router 120, an end device124, or both, the gateway 116 should be left open such that the childrendevices can associate with the gateway 116 and establish a communicationlink. The gateway 116 may be opened by a number of different means. Forexample, a system administrator may select an icon at the main userinterface, usually associated with the central server 138 or propertymanagement system 216, to open the gateway 116 to wirelesscommunications. Alternatively, the gateway 116 may be opened todiscovery by pressing a switch on the gateway 116. Once pressed, apredetermined feedback may be displayed to the user indicating that thegateway 116 has been opened to discovery. In still a further alternativeembodiment, a control device 212 may be presented to the gateway 116 toopen the gateway 116 to discovery.

As a part of the child device discovery process, the child units maysend information to the central server 138 via the parent gateway 116such that the child presents themselves at the central server 138 as anew child of the gateway 116. In accordance with embodiments of thepresent invention, the discovery process in carried out according to theZigBee protocol. The central server 138 may utilize this information tobuild a family tree or picture of the wireless network 104 architecturein the same storage space where the gateway 116 name and address arelocated. More specifically, the name and address of each child of thegateway 116 may be stored in association with the gateway 116 name andaddress thereby creating a logical connection between the gateway 116and its children. Therefore, when the central server 138 wants to send amessage to an end device 124, it will know what gateway 116 hasestablished a communication link with the subject end device 124 andthus will know to which gateway 116 the message should be sent. The nameand number of each end device 124 may also be maintained in the familytree information stored by the central server 138. In accordance withembodiments of the present invention, those devices may be displayedalong with their name to a system administrator via a Graphical UserInterface (GUI) associated with the central server 138 and/or propertymanagement system 216.

Additionally, the gateway 116 may maintain a list of its childrendevices in memory 612, such that the gateway 116 can know how to addressmessages to different children devices. Accordingly, a redundant set offamily tree (network architecture) lists may be stored at the centralserver 138 and/or database 140 and the gateway 116. This may proveuseful in the event that either the central server 138 or gateway 116fails, such that a restored version of the failed device may retrievethe network architecture information from the other unaffected device.

The gateway 116 is left open to discovery until either it has reachedits device capacity or all of the possible children devices haveassociated with the gateway 116. Therefore, the gateway 116 willcontinue to determine if the discovery is complete (step 720). Thisdetermination may be made by asking a system administrator if all of thedesired children have associated with the gateway 116. Alternatively,the gateway 116 may be left open to discovery for a predetermined amountof time before it is closed to discovery. Once it is determined that thediscovery process has completed for the gateway 116, the gateway 116 isclosed to discovery. At this point all of the communication linkscreated during discovery are the only allowable communication links forthe gateway 116, unless the gateway 116 is reopened to discovery (step724). In other words, in one embodiment, children devices may only beassociated with the gateway 116 while the gateway 116 is open todiscovery. Otherwise, the potential children devices will need toattempt to associate with a different parent device.

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram depicting a method of installing a router 120in accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention.The method is initiated when a router 120 is physically installed (step804). The physical location of the router 120 may vary depending uponthe network 104 needs and the number of end devices 124 that requireservice. Furthermore, the location of the router 120 will also dependupon the location of other routers 120 and gateways 116 in the wirelessnetwork 104. In accordance with embodiments of the present invention,the router 120 may be mounted at a given location through the use of aVelcro® strap or the like. The router 120 may also be mounted in ahidden fashion such that the casual passerby cannot see it. Forinstance, a router 120 may be hidden in a room sign, bell, and/or DNDmounting that is installed within a wall or door. Alternatively, therouter 120 may be hidden in an electrical J box mounted within a wall.

Once the router 120 is physically installed, the router 120 is openedfor parent discovery (step 808). In the parent discovery mode, therouter 120 searches for a wireless device (e.g., another router 120 orgateway 116) to which the router can send status and activity data toand receive control data from (step 812). While trying to find a parentdevice, the router 120 determines if it can connect to a located parentor in other words, the router 120 determines if it is allowed toassociate with a located parent device (step 816). In some embodiments,the router 120 may detect the RF activity of a wireless device but thatwireless device may be closed to discovery. Under these circumstances,the detected wireless device may have reached its device capacity andcannot support an additional child device. Alternatively, the detectedparent device may be closed to discovery in order to “force” the router120 to choose a parent that the system administrator wants chosen,rather than allowing the router 120 to choose any parent. In thisparticular embodiment, a system administrator can force communicationpaths from one router 120 to the next until it finally reaches a chosengateway 116. This is different from current ZigBee mesh networks thatallow wireless devices to change which device they are associated within a somewhat improvised manner.

If the router 120 cannot find an allowable parent, then the method willreturn to step 812 and the router 120 will continue to scan variouschannels until an allowable parent device is found. Once the router 120has found an allowable parent device, the parent device is selected(step 820). Once the parent device has been selected, the router 120establishes a communication link with the selected parent bycommunicating its address to the parent device (step 824). The parentdevice subsequently communicates the router 120 address to its parent,and this continues until the router 120 address is communicated to agateway 116 and ultimately the central server 138 (step 824). All alongthe way each parent device may store the router 120 address in memorysuch that the wireless network 104 architecture is maintained by morethan just the central server 138.

When the central server 138 receives the router 120 address, the centralserver 138 may assign the router 120 a name (step 828). The nameassigned to the router 120 may be similar to the name assigned to thegateway 116 in that the name may represent the physical location of therouter 120 and/or the devices with which the router 120 is associated.

Once the router 120 has established a communication link with itsparent, the router 120 is opened for child discovery (step 832). Therouter 120 may be opened to parent discovery and/or child discovery byusing a control device 212 or other mechanisms described above inassociation with opening a gateway 116 to discovery. The router 120 isleft open until the child discovery process is completed (step 836).Until the router 120 is closed to child discovery, any other router 120and/or end device 124 may establish a communication link with the router120 thereby associate with that router 120. In some embodiment, a router120 may be installed to relieve the burden on another wireless devicessuch as a router 120. In this case, the router 120 may allow childrenpreviously associated with another router 120 to associate with it. Oncethe child device has switched to the router 120, a communication linkmay be established by having the child device send the router 120 itsaddress. Once the child discovery process is completed, the router 120is closed to child discovery and the method is completed (step 840).

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram depicting a method of installing an end device124 in accordance with at least some embodiments of the presentinvention. Similar to the gateway 116 and router 120, the method beginswhen the end device 124 is physically installed (step 904). There may bea number of end devices 124 installed in a common room. End devices 124may also be installed in a non-room environment such as a hallway oroutdoors. Once the end device 124 has been installed, it is determinedif a discovery card or control device 212 will be used to activate theend device 124 (step 908). In the event that a control device 212 willbe used, the control device 212 is presented to the end device (step912). Upon detecting the presence of the control device 212, the enddevice 124 begins searching for an available parent similar to the waythat the router 120 searched for a parent device (step 924).

If a control device 212 will not be used to activate the end device 124,the end device 124 is manually activated by powering up the end device124 or pressing a reset button (step 916). Once the end device 124 hasbeen powered up, the end device 124 stays in a sleep mode until it istime to awake and search (step 920). In one embodiment, the wirelesscommunication interface 432 may comprise a built in mechanism thatdetermines when wireless communications should occur. During all othertimes the wireless communication interface 432 is inactive in an attemptto preserve energy resources.

Once it becomes time for the end device 124 to awake, the end deviceactivates the wireless communication interface 432 and begins searchingfor an available parent device (step 924). While searching for a parentdevice, the end device 124 determines if any possible parent devices arewithin wireless communication range. If a wireless communication deviceis detected, the end device 124 then determines if that device is openand able to associate with another end device. If no allowable parentsare found, the end device 124 may return to a sleep mode and trysearching for a parent device at a later time. Alternatively, the enddevice 124 may continue searching for an available and allowable parentdevice (step 924).

If the end device 124 identifies an allowable parent device, then theend device 124 will connect with the parent device and begincommunications with that parent device (step 932). After connecting withthe parent device, the end device 124 will transmit its address to theparent, which is ultimately relayed to the central server 138 (step936). The address is incorporated by the central server 138 into therecords of the network architecture and associated with the wirelessdevices that receive/transmit messages from and to the end device 124.Similar to other wireless devices, the end device 124 may receive a namewhen its address is communicated to the central server 138. This namemay also be stored in association with the end device 124 address andthe network architecture. After the end device 124 has properlycommunicated its address to the parent device, the end device 124 andits parent know the address of the other device and each can begincommunicating with one another (step 940). The communication sessionbetween the end device 124 and its parent may comprise the end device124 sending status and activity related messages to the parent deviceand the parent device sending control messages to the end device 124.

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram depicting a method of choosing a parent devicein accordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention.When trying to establish a communication link between a child wirelessdevice and a parent wireless device, the child wireless device may befree to chose a parent based on the availability of parents at the timeof discovery or the child may be forced to chose a predetermined parentas dictated by a system administrator or installation personnel. Themethod begins when it is determined if the address of a desired parentis known (step 1004). This may be determined affirmatively if the systemadministrator provides the child device with the address or identity ofa parent device. If no address or identity of a parent device isprovided to the child device, then the question may be answerednegatively.

In the event that the address of a desired parent is known before thechild device is allowed to start parent discovery, the address isprovided to the child device thereby forcing the child device to selectthe desired parent (step 1008). The child device then begins searchingthe RF spectrum for a device having a matching address. A series ofquery and response messages may be transmitted between the child deviceand other wireless devices. The child device may send a request for anywireless device receiving the message to transmit their address. Thechild device will analyze the responses to its query to determine if oneof the responding wireless devices has a matching address. The childdevice searches for the matching address in order to determine if thedesired parent is open and responding to queries generated by the childdevice (step 1012). In the event that the child device does not receivea response with a matching address, the child device will continuesearching and trying to connect to the desired parent device (step1016). Reasons why a desired parent may not currently be available whenthe child device is searching for the parent is that there may be somelag time between activating the child device for discovery and theparent device for discovery. Alternatively, the parent device may beclosed to discovery until one of its previously assigned child deviceshas re-associated with another parent device thereby allowing thedesired parent device to open itself to discovery by the child device.

Once the child device identifies that the desired parent is available,the parent and child devices exchange addresses and begin creating acommunication link. As a part of developing a communication link, thechild and parent device may negotiate a channel on which they willoperate (step 1020). In accordance with one embodiment, the selectedchannel depends upon the channel that the parent is already using tocommunicate with other children devices. In accordance with analternative embodiment, both devices may scan a number of channels anddecide which channel has the least amount of traffic and choose thatchannel.

Referring back to step 1004, in the event that there is no predeterminedparent for the child device, the child device begins searching for apossible parent device (step 1024). The search conducted by the childdevice may include scanning one or a number of different bandwidths andchannels within those bandwidths for RF activity. While searching for RFactivity, the child device is determining if an allowable parent isfound (step 1028). More specifically, detecting RF activity does notnecessarily mean that the active RF device is open to discovery. Also,if the RF signal is so weak that a reliable wireless connection may notbe possible, the child device may decide that no allowable parent isfound and continue searching for a possible parent in step 1024.However, in the event that at least one allowable parent device isidentified, and those parent devices are open to discovery andassociation with a child device, the child device determines if multipleallowable parents are found (step 1032). If more than one allowableparent is found, then the child device selects the parent with thestrongest signal, which is preferably the parent device in closestproximity to the child device (step 1036). After the parent device hasbeen selected from multiple parent devices or if there was only oneallowable parent device, they method continues to step 1020 where achannel is selected for wireless communication. The channel selectionmethod will be described in more detail below, but it should be notedthat in some cases a few channels may be blocked or do not represent thebest communication quality at the time of installing a child device.Accordingly, in accordance with embodiments of the present invention,the method may try and find the best channel to transmit and receive on(i.e., the channel with the lowest noise level). However, this may be inconflict with what the system administrator knows about the channels andwhat might occur at a later time. Under these circumstances, if thesystem administrator may force the child and parent device to use acertain channel. As an extension, the system administrator may choosevarious frequencies for different room 130, 134 and floor 128 networksin an attempt to minimize the interference between networks within thewireless network 104.

After the channel has been negotiated between the child device and theparent device and each device has shared its address, the child andparent device establish a communication link and the child deviceconnects to the selected parent (step 1040).

In addition to creating a fast debug process, there may be a need for asystem administrator or other installation technician to differentiatebetween a malfunctioning wireless communication interface 432, 504, 604and a malfunctioning wireless device itself. To achieve such adetermination, the wireless device may be activated at the device levelto test the wireless communications quality. Once activated, userfeedback in the form of LED blinking lights and/or sound variationsbased on the status of the communication between wireless devices may beprovided to the system administrator. This way, it can easily bedetermined if the wireless devices are communicating properly or if thechild device should connect to a different parent device.

In accordance with embodiments of the present invention, a solution forrouting a wireless network 104 through a long corridor or the like maybe provided. Due to building configurations of long corridors,especially in the hospitality/hotel and motel industry, the distancesbetween child and parent devices may be controlled such that wirelesscommunications in the wireless network 104 are optimized. In oneembodiment, each end device 124 will attempt to associate with theclosest parent device, rather than the natural ZigBee configuration,which allows an end device 124 to associate with any available parentdevice, which is available at the time of the search, but is far away incomparison to other potential parent devices not currently open todiscovery. Forcing wireless devices to connect to one another, at thetime of installation, to optimize communication quality is one of manyunique characteristics of embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 11 depicts a method of recovering from an end device 124 failure.The method begins when an end device 124 fails and the end device's 124parent waits for the restoration of the end device 124 (step 1104). Theparent device continues to search for activity from the end device 124until some RF activity is detected from the end device (step 1108). Oncethe parent notices that the end device 124 has been restored, the parentdevice is opened for discovery again (step 1112). Opening the parentdevice for child discovery allows the end device 124 to reestablish acommunication link with the parent device.

With the parent device open for discovery, the end device 124 beginssearching for the previous parent (step 1116). Upon detecting theprevious parent, the end device 124 will begin re-associating with theprevious parent (step 1120). During the re-association step, the devicesmay exchange addresses and names such that the network architecture isrestored in the memory of the parent device. Alternatively, the parentdevice may maintain the address of the failed end device 124 and asimple reconnect message may be all that is required to establish thecommunication link between the parent device and the end device 124.

Once the end device 124 has successfully re-associated with the parentdevice, the parent device is closed to child discovery (step 1124).Closing the parent device to additional discovery helps to limit thechances of another wireless device switching over to communicating withthe parent device. Another step that may be taken is that the parentdevice may only be opened to a limited child discovery whereby only theaddress of the failed end device is allowed to create a communicationlink with the parent device. However, this may be problematic insituations where the end device 124 has failed catastrophically andrequires a replacement end device 124.

With reference now to FIG. 12, a method of recovering from a router 120failure will be described in accordance with at least some embodimentsof the present invention. When a router 120 fails, the router 120 sendsan SOS message to the central server 138 indicating that it will sooncompletely fail (step 1204). The power used to send the SOS message maybe provided by a backup capacitor that is capable of providing enoughenergy to transmit one last message in case the primary power supply tothe router 120 fails. Of course, the router 120 may undergo certaintypes of failures that do not allow it to transmit an SOS message. Forexample, if the wireless communication interface 504 of the router 120suddenly fails, it may not be possible for the router 120 to communicatean SOS message to its parent and ultimately the central server 138.

After the SOS message is sent, the router 120 presumably fails andbecomes unavailable to service its previous children devices. As aresult of the router 120 failing, the child devices begin searching foranother available parent (step 1208). In this step, the child devicesmay simply begin scanning for RF activity to determine whether aparticular parent device is active and available (step 1212).Alternatively, the child devices may be provided with or may havepreviously been provided with an address of an alternative parent devicein the event that the first assigned parent device became unavailablefor any reason. In this particular embodiment, the child device may senda query message out to all parent devices requesting a response with anaddress or other type of identification. If the alternative parentdevice responds, then the child device may associate with thealternative parent device.

In accordance with embodiments, when the central server 138 receives anSOS message, it may reference the database 140 to determine what childdevices will be affected by the failed router 120 and may also identifywhich alternative parent devices should be opened to child discovery.When the central server 138 identifies the alternative parent devices,the central server 138 may send a command message to each identifiedparent device requesting it to open to child discovery or at leastrequesting that it opens itself to a limited child discovery. If thechild nodes of the failed router 120 cannot find an available parent,then the child nodes will store data that was supposed to be sent to itsparent node (step 1216). This way no data is lost as the result of therouter 120 failing. Instead, the child node will continue to store thedata until it associates with either another parent or its previousparent, at which time the child node can begin sending data again to theparent, including sending any data that was stored while it wassearching for a parent device.

When the child node finds a new parent (which may be the previous parentif the failed router 120 has been restored), the child node associateswith the new parent (step 1220). The association with the new parent isperformed in a similar fashion to that described above where addressesare exchanged between child and parent and a wireless communicationsession is initiated between the two.

After the child has associated with the new parent, the child devicedetermines whether the new parent is suitable as a permanent parent(step 1224). If the new parent is the restored previous parent, then thenew parent will likely be sufficient as a permanent parent. Also, if thenew parent was on a list of backup parents for the child that may beused as a permanent parent, then the child device may decide that thenew parent is suitable as a permanent parent. However, if the new parentis at or near capacity (i.e., child capacity), then the new parent mayonly be suitable as a temporary parent until the failed router 120 isrestored.

If the new parent is suitable as a permanent parent for the childdevice, then the method may end and the association between the childand parent may be maintained indefinitely (step 1256). On the otherhand, if the new parent is not suitable as a permanent parent, then thechild device will continue searching for its previous parent even whileit is associated with the new parent (step 1228). The child device maysearch periodically or continuously for the previous parent. In oneembodiment, the child device searches for the previous parent deviceperiodically in order to limit energy consumption. As a part ofsearching for the previous parent, the child device scans for RFactivity and if such activity is detected, determines if the activity isoriginating from the previous parent by asking for the address of theactive RF device (step 1232). If the previous parent is not found, thenthe child node will continue searching for the previous parent evenwhile associated with the temporary parent.

If the previous parent is found by the child node, then the child nodewill re-associate with the previous parent (i.e., the failed router 120)(step 1236). Along with re-associating with the previous parent, thechild node will break its association with the temporary parent device.

To have the wireless network 104 become completely restored, theprevious parent still has to re-associate with its previous parent. Tobegin this process, the previous parent of the failed router 120 isopened for discovery (step 1240). The command to open the previousparent of the failed router 120 may be received from the central server138 or from the property management system 216.

After the parent of the previously failed router 120 has been opened fordiscovery, the router 120 will begin searching for the previous parent(step 1244). Once the previous parent is located, the router 120 willre-associate with its previous parent (step 1248). During there-association, the router 120 may be required to retransmit its addressto the central server 138. In an alternative embodiment, the parent ofthe failed router 120 and/or the central server 138 may maintain theidentification information for the failed router 120 and the failedrouter 120 only has to transmit a signal indicating that it has beenrestored and has re-associated with its previous parent. Upon receipt ofthe signal the central server 138 and/or parent of the failed router 120may update their memory to indicate that the re-association withoutreceiving the actual address of the failed router 120.

Once the failed router 120 has been re-associated with its previousparent, the parent as well as the failed router 120 is closed todiscovery by other devices, thereby preserving the current connectionsin the wireless network 104 (step 1252). After the devices have beenclosed to discovery, the method ends (step 1256).

FIG. 13 depicts a method of recovering from a gateway 116 failure inaccordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention. Agateway 116 usually serves as a connector for a number of devices in thewireless network 104 to the wired network 108. The gateways 116 may beoperated at or near capacity thereby exploiting their full potential asconnectors between the different networks. Accordingly, when a gateway116 fails, it is often the case that no other alternative gateways 116are available to connect the portion of the wireless network 104 servedby the failed gateway 116 to the wired network 108. Therefore, when agateway 116 fails, most of the devices in the wireless network 104 haveto wait for the gateway 116 to become active again (step 1304). Thefailed gateway 116 may be restored either by fixing or replacing thegateway 116. In one embodiment, the wireless devices will continue towait until the failed gateway 116 is restored (step 1308). Whilewaiting, some wireless devices may continue to store data that wouldotherwise be transmitted to the central server 138 if the gateway 116were operational.

Once the gateway 116 becomes operational again, the gateway 116 isopened for discovery (step 1312). More specifically, the gateway 116 maybe opened for child discovery. When the gateway 116 is opened fordiscovery, the children will search for and ultimately find the restoredgateway 116 (step 1316). The restored gateway 116 may then beginre-associating with its children nodes (step 1320).

In accordance with one embodiment, the gateway 116 may be limited in thenumber of child nodes it can associate with at the same time. In theevent that the gateway 116 is limited in the number of child nodes it isallowed to associate with at the same time, due to processingrestrictions or the like, the gateway 116 may be given a list by thecentral server 138 indicating the order in which it should associatewith its children nodes. The central server 138 may maintain the list ofwhich children nodes are associated with which parent nodes and when agateway 116 fails, the central server 138 may dictate the order in whichre-association occurs. The order may be ordered according to nodeimportance or may be completely arbitrary. Once the first child node hassuccessfully re-associated with the gateway 116, the next child node inthe defined order may begin re-association.

In accordance with alternative embodiments, the gateway 116 may not belimited in the number of children that it can associate with at once, ormay only need to associate with a number of children that does notexceeds its threshold, in which case the gateway 116 will re-associatewill all of the children nodes at substantially the same time. In step1324, it is determined if the gateway 116 has re-associated with all ofits previous children nodes. This determination may be made by comparinga list of currently associated children nodes with a list of previouslyassociated children nodes. If the two lists match, then it canaffirmatively be determined that all children nodes have successfullyre-associated with the gateway 116. If there is some children nodes thathave not re-associated with the gateway 116, then the method may returnto step 1316. Alternatively, it may be determined if those childrennodes not associated with the gateway 116 have found alternative parentsto become permanently associated with. If this is the case, or if all ofthe children nodes have re-associated with the gateway 116, then thegateway 116 is closed to discovery because the wireless network 104 hasbeen restored (step 1328).

FIG. 14 depicts a method of recovering from a server 138 failure inaccordance with at least some embodiments of the present invention. Thecentral server 138 is a common point where data from the wireless 104and wired 108 networks converge. There exists the possibility that thecentral server 138 may fail. In some embodiments, redundant servers maybe provided such that no effect is felt due to having one server fail.However, in some embodiments, the failure of the central server 138 mayrequire the network to compensate until the central server 138 can berestored. In the event that the central server 138 does fail and noalternatives are available to immediately replace the central server138, then the gateways 116 will store data received from the childrenthat would otherwise be transmitted to the central server 138 (step1404). While the gateways 116 are storing data from their children, itis determined whether a new server will be required (i.e., whether theserver failure is catastrophic and will require the server to bereplaced) (step 1408). In the event that a new server is needed, thenthe data that was stored on the previous server is copied to the newserver (step 1412). Of course, this particular step of may be performedduring operation where the primary server mirrors data to a backupserver so that the backup server can assume primary serverresponsibilities almost instantaneously when the primary server fails.Alternatively, the data from the server may be retrieved either from thememory of the server or from the database 140 and copied to the newserver.

After the data has been copied to the new server, or in the event that anew server is unnecessary, it is determined whether either the originalserver or the backup server has been restored and is currently active(step 1416). When the server is restored, the gateways 116 reconnect tothe server via the wired network 108 (step 1420). After the connectionis re-established, the gateways 116 transfer the data that has beenstored while the server was being restored (step 1424). This allows thedata logs to be maintained accurately in the central server 138 memoryand database 140, thereby allowing the property management system 216 toproperly manage the property because accurate information is beingreceived.

With reference now to FIG. 15, a method of selecting a wireless channelwithin a given frequency bandwidth for a wireless device will bedescribed in accordance with at least some embodiments of the presentinvention. The method begins by resetting a timer, typically located inthe central server 138, but which also may be maintained in the wirelessdevice (e.g., gateway 116, router 120, or end device 124) (step 1504).With the timer reset, the subject wireless device determines whetherthere is wireless traffic detected on a selected channel (step 1508). Indetermining whether there is wireless traffic on the selected channel,the wireless device may query its children and parent devices or checkthe activity of its children and parent devices to ensure communicationsare occurring properly. Also, the wireless device may check to see ifmessages are being lost between its parent and/or children nodes, and ifso it may determine that wireless traffic is not occurring properly onthe selected channel. If the wireless activity is detected anddetermined to be adequate on the selected channel, then thecommunications are maintained on the current channel (step 1512), andthe timer is reset (step 1504).

However, if the wireless activity is not detected or determined to beinadequate (e.g., because messages are being lost), then it isdetermined if the timer has exceeded a predetermined threshold (step1516). The value of the threshold may be based on the required accuracyof transmitted data and may range from a few seconds to a couple ofminutes. If the timer has not exceeded the threshold, then the methodreturns to step 1508. When it is determined that the timer has exceededthe threshold, the wireless gateway 116 initiates an energy scan (step1520). The purpose of the energy scan is for the gateway 116 to identifya channel with a relatively minimal amount of traffic on it. Forexample, the gateway 116 will have a number of wireless devicesassociated with it try to identify the channel with the least amount ofnoise on the channel.

After scanning the various channels, the gateway 116 selects the channelwith the lowest amount of RF energy or noise on it (step 1524). Thegateway 116 can make this decision based on the RF activity withinproximity to the gateway 116, but may also make the decision based onthe RF activity around routers 120 or end devices 124 associated withthe gateway 116. Once the gateway 116 has made a decision regarding whatchannel the wireless network 104 will use, the gateway 116 switches tothe selected channel and the children of the gateway begin searching forthe gateway 116 on different channels (step 1528). Eventually thechildren nodes will find the gateway 116 on the new channel (step 1532).In one embodiment, the children nodes will search all of the channels atrandom until the gateway 116 is found. In an alternative embodiment, thegateway 116 will send a message to each child node indicating whatchannel the gateway 116 will switch to. This allows each child node toautomatically switch to the same channel as the gateway 116.

Once the children nodes have found the gateway 116, the children nodesre-associate with the gateway 116 (step 1536). Then it is determinedwhether all of the previous children have re-associated with the gateway116 (step 1540). In determining whether all of the children havere-associated with the gateway 116, a list of previously associatedchildren may be compared with a list of the children currentlyassociated with the gateway 116. If all of the previous children havenot re-associated with the gateway 116, then the method returns to step1532.

When all of the children nodes have re-associated with the gateway 116,the gateway 116 is closed to discovery and no other children nodes areallowed to connect with the gateway 116 and the communication channelsfor the gateway 116 are fixed (step 1544). After the children of thegateway 116 have associated with the gateway 116 on the new channel, thesubsequent children (i.e., the children of the children of the gateway116) re-associate with their parents on the new channel (step 1548).

In accordance with other embodiments, the gateway 116 may not need toswitch channels because there is not much noise near it. Rather, thegateway 116 may cause only a portion of the wireless network 104 toswitch channels. In this particular embodiment, the gateway 116 maycause one or more of its children or children of its children to switchchannels without actually switching channels itself. In this way, thewireless network 104 may be operating on two or more channels. Thismeans that some wireless devices may receive data on one channel andtransmit data on another channel.

FIG. 16 depicts a method of tracking the efficiency of personnel in amulti-room facility. One advantage of employing a wireless network 104in a multi-room facility is that data may be transmitted in nearreal-time to the central server 138 and therefore the propertymanagement system 216. The method begins when the activity of anemployee is detected at a room (step 1604). After activity has beendetected in a room for an employee, the method waits to until moreactivity is detected in the same room (step 1608). The kinds of activitythat may be detected in a room may include the employee entering theroom, leaving the room, turning on a light, opening a door, room iscleaned and ready for a new guest, notification of an issue in the room,or any other activity that can be detected in a room. If more than oneactivity is detected in the same room for the same employee, then theactivity data is stored in the database 140 (step 1612). Then theactivity is counted for the employee for that room (step 1616). Thiscontinues as long as activity is detected in the same room for the sameemployee. In the event that activity is detected for the employee in adifferent room, then the activity counts for the previous room arecounted for that employee (step 1620).

As a part of analyzing the activity counts for that employee in thegiven room, the time difference between various activities is calculatedand compared to the time that such activities should take. For example,if cleaning a room should take around 1 hour, and the activity of theemployee in the room reflects that the room was cleaned in 1 hour, thenthe analysis of the room activity for that employee will reflect thatthe room was cleaned in the required time. However, if the employeetakes too long to clean the room, then the analysis will reflect thatthe employee took too long in cleaning the room. The data can then becompared to historical data for that same employee to identify workinghabits and other patterns for the employee. After the data is analyzed,then the room statistics can be aggregated into a room statistics reportfor the employee (step 1624).

Referring now to FIG. 17, a method of checking in to a room remotelywill be described in accordance with at least some embodiments of thepresent invention. The method begins when a guest to a multi-roomfacility books a room and selects a remote check-in option (step 1704).By selecting the remote check-in option the guest has opted to havetheir check-in be performed automatically, rather than having to go to aconcierge or the like to check-in before they go to their room. When theguest selects the remote check-in option, the guest is assigned a roomthat is projected to be available during their stay (step 1708). Thisrequires the pre-allocation of rooms to some guests, such that thoseparticular rooms are not assigned to another guest. Of course, the roomassignments may change, but initially the guest is assigned a room.

After a room has been assigned to the guest, an access message isgenerated at the central server 138 or property management system 216(step 1712). The access message may contain data related to the roomthat has been assigned to the guest as well as access permissions tothat room. The message may be generated and maintained in source code(i.e., binary data) or it may contain a user friendly portion that canbe perceived by the user, the user friendly portion can tell the guestwhat room they have been assigned to as well as when they will beallowed access to the room. The access message may also contain aself-timing mechanism that determines when the access permissions to theroom are activated and de-activated based on the allowed time ofpermission for the guest.

Once the access message has been generated, the access message isencoded for secure transmission to the guest's communication device 236(step 1716). Upon encoding the message, the central server causes themessage to be transmitted to the guest's communication device 236, whichis typically in the form of an access credential 204 (step 1720). Inaccordance with embodiments of the present invention, the guest'scommunication device 236 may comprise an NFC enabled communicationdevice that allows the communication device 236 to receive the accessmessage as well as support access control applications. For example, thecommunication device 236 may comprise an NFC enabled cellular phone orthe like that can receive an SMS message, a cellular phone call, a page,or any other type of data transmission across the communication network232. The cellular phone may also be equipped to communicate the accessmessage to the access end device 124 thereby allowing the access enddevice 124 to make an access control decision for the guest'scommunication device 236.

Upon receiving the message, the communication device 236 decodes theaccess message back to its original format (step 1724). After decoding,the communication device 236 may separate the access message into itsdifferent portions (e.g., message and access permissions) and treat eachportion appropriately. For instance, the access permissions may bestored in memory of the communication device 236 for future use whereasthe message may be displayed to the guest upon receipt so that the guestknows that the reservation has been confirmed. Thereafter, it isdetermined if it is time for check-in (step 1728). The self-timingmechanism may be referenced to determine if it is time to allow theguest to check-in to their room. The check-in time is controlled so thatvarious maintenance steps can be taken before the guest enters the room.If it is not time to allow check-in, then the access permissions remainunusable and the self-timing mechanism is further monitored.

Once it is allowable for the guest to check-in to their room, the accessend devices 124 in the appropriate rooms may have user preferences andaccess permissions transmitted to them (step 1732). Upon receiving theaccess permissions for the new guest, the access end device 124 may knowthat it can allow access to the guest, whereas before receiving the userpreferences and access permissions, the access end device 124 would nothave allowed access to the room. In an alternative embodiment, theaccess control decisions may be made by the central server 138 andtherefore the need to transmit data to the access end device 124 may beunnecessary. In other words, when the access end device 124 receivesaccess data from an access credential 204 and/or communication device236, it may simply forward such data to the central server 138 and waitfor a decision from the central server 138 regarding whether the devicepresented to the access end device 124 is allowed access. However, giventhe nature of the wireless network 104 it may be preferable to make theaccess decisions at the access end device 124 and not requiretransmission of data across the wireless network 104. In addition tosending user preferences to the appropriate access end device 124, theuser preferences may be transmitted to various other end devices 124 inthe room, such that the guest can enter the room and have it at theirdesired temperature, and other user configurable settings.

Along with activating the access end device 124 in the room, the accesspermissions may be activated on the communication device 236 (step1736). Of course, the access permissions may not need to be activated inthe communication device 236, but activation of the permissions mayprovide an additional layer of security for the system 100.

Once the access end device 124 has received the access permissions forthe guest and/or the access permissions for the guest have beenactivated on the communication device 236 the user may present thecommunication device 236 to the access end device 124 (step 1740). Uponpresenting the communication device 236 to the access end device 124,the access permissions data may be analyzed either by the access enddevice 124 or by the central server 138 and an access decision may bemade (step 1744). If the access data is verified and it is determinedthat the guest is allowed to obtain access to the room, then the guestis granted access to the room (step 1748). This particular step maycomprise the access end device 124 deactivating a lock on the room orthe like, thereby allowing the guest to enter the room.

One advantage of using the remote check-in option is that the guest onlyhas to book the room and the check-in is performed automatically. Inother words, the guest does not have to visit facility personnel beforethey go to their room. Instead, the guest can arrive at the facility andgo directly to their room and if the time is appropriate such that theguest can enter the room, they are allowed access to the room.Additionally, the functions of the facility personnel are changed suchthat they do not have to check every guest in. More specifically, thereis no need to check-in a guest that has utilized the remote check-inoption. The remote check-in option is made possible by a communicationdevice 236 that also functions as an access credential 204, where accesspermissions can be transmitted to the communication device 236automatically across the communication network 232.

FIG. 18 depicts a method of checking-out of a room in a multi-roomfacility in accordance with at least some embodiments of the presentinvention. To begin the check-out procedure, the guest presents anaccess credential 204 to an end device 124 (step 1804). The end device124 may be located in the guest's room or may be located in a centrallocation. In one embodiment, the guest presents their access credential204 to a television end device 124. In an alternative embodiment, theguest presents their access credential 204 to a designated check-out enddevice 124.

Upon presenting the access credential 204 to the end device 124, theaccess data on the access credential 204 is disabled (step 1808). Theaccess data may be disabled by partially or completely deleting theaccess data from the memory of the access credential 204. Alternatively,the access end devices 124 may have their access data permissionsupdated to reflect that the access credential 204 should not be allowedaccess.

After the access data has been disabled, the end device 124 may send amessage to the central server 138 indicating that the guest ischecking-out (step 1812). When the central server 138 receives themessage, the central server 138 may determine what charges the user hasincurred during their stay (step 1816). The charges may have beenautomatically updated during the guest's stay. For example, if the guesttook a beverage from the mini-bar, then the mini-bar end device 124 mayhave detected such activity and automatically charged the guest'saccount. Once the guest's charges have been determined, an invoice isgenerated for the guest (step 1820). The invoice is then sent to theguest either directly to the guest's communication device 236 or toanother predetermined location (step 1824). Upon sending an invoice tothe guest, the guest may have an account automatically charged toappropriate amount (step 1828). In one embodiment, the guest may haveidentified a financial account that can be automatically charged. Inthis embodiment, the identified financial account can be automaticallycharged and the guest can receive notification of the same within theinvoice. Alternatively, the invoice may be sent to the guest and theguest can then present a form of payment to the end device 124 tocomplete the transaction. Once the guest has paid the required charges,the guest can be considered checked-out and the method ends.

FIG. 19 depicts a method of managing the state of a room in accordancewith embodiments of the present invention. Initially, a reporting card208 is presented to an end device 124 associated with a room (step1904). The presentation of the reporting card 208 may represent acertain state of the room, for example, various problems associated withthe room and/or other actions that may be associated with a given room.When the reporting card 208 is presented to the end device 124, thestate of the room is updated to reflect the type of reporting card 208that was presented thereto (step 1908). As an example, if the reportingcard 208 presented to the end device 124 represented that the room hasbeen serviced, then the room state data is sent to the central server138 (step 1912). Thereafter, the room state along with the time that theroom state was reported is stored in the database 140 and/or in memoryof the central server 138 (step 1916). In some embodiments, the roomstate may not necessarily change, but the time that the room state isreported may still be stored indicating that the room state of the roomhas been verified at a particular time.

When the central server 138 receives the room state data, the centralserver 138 will determine if it needs to report the room state tofacility personnel (step 1920). This particular determination may bemade automatically by the property management system 216 or manually byfacility personnel managing the property management system 216. In theevent that the room state does need to be reported to one or morefacility personnel, the property management system 216 determines thecommunication method that should be employed to report the room state(step 1924). For instance, if the room state indicates that anelectrician will be required to service the room, then the propertymanagement system 216 may determine how to contact the electrician(e.g., via pager, SMS message, email, etc.). Once it is determined howfacility personnel should be contacted, the property management system216 may request the appropriate server to send a message to thepersonnel via the communication network 232 (step 1928). Once themessage has been sent, if reporting was required, or if not reportingwas required, then the method ends (step 1932). This method may berepeated when the room is serviced by the facility personnel, theproblem has been addressed, and the room state should be updated again.

Referring now to FIG. 20, a method of determining room status based onactivity detected by end devices 124 will be described in accordancewith at least some embodiments of the present invention. Initially, itis determined if door activity is detected (step 2004). Door activitymay be detected either by an access end device 124 or by some other typeof motion detecting end device 124. If no door activity is detected,then the method waits until such activity is detected. When dooractivity is detected, the access end device 124 sends a door closedstatus message to its parent device for ultimate transmission to therouter 120 (step 2008). Upon receiving the door closed status messagefrom the access end device 124, the router 120 will notify the centralserver 138 which in turn notifies other end devices 124 associated withthe same room as the access end device 124 which sent the door closedmessage. In an alternative embodiment, the router 120 may send the doorclosed status message to the other room devices instead of sending it tothe central server 138, unless the router 120 does not service all ofthe room devices. Also upon receiving the door closed status message,the router 120 servicing the access end device 124 updates the roomstatus to un-occupied (step 2012). The updated room status may betransmitted to the central server 138 reflecting the same.

After the room status has been updated, the method waits until in-roommovement is detected (step 2016). If no in-room movement is detected,then it can be assumed that the room status is un-occupied and thereforethe room status does not need to be changed. However, if and whenin-room movement is detected, for example, by a motion detector or aninfrared detector, the sensor that detected the movement sends a signalto the router 120 indicating the same (step 2020). The message indicatesthat the door has been closed and a person is inside the room.Therefore, the router 120 servicing the room updates the room status tooccupied and transmits the same message to other room devices and/or thecentral server 138 indicating the same (step 2024). Thereafter, themethod returns to step 2004 to wait until more door activity isdetected.

The management and determination of the room status can help to ensurethat resources such as heat or air conditioning are used only when theroom status is identified as occupied. In one embodiment, the control ofvarious end devices 124 in the room will vary depending upon the roomstatus. For example, if user preferences dictate, the curtains may beopened or closed and lights may be turned on automatically when the roomstatus is identified as occupied. On the other hand, if the room statusis identified as unoccupied, then the devices in the room may turn thelights off automatically, close the blinds, and turn off the airconditioning. The preservation of such resources in a multi-roomfacility can facilitate great cost savings, since a large portion ofmulti-room facility costs are attributed to energy usage.

FIG. 21 depicts a method of managing energy resources in accordance withat least some embodiments of the present invention. The method begins bydetermining whether there is a change in the room status (step 2104).When there is no change in the room status, then the status quo of theroom devices is preserved and no action is necessary. However, if theroom status does change, it is determined whether the room status haschanged to either occupied or un-occupied (step 2108). If the roomstatus has changed to occupied from un-occupied, then the end device 124actions associated with an occupied room are identified (step 2112). Forexample, if the lights are supposed to turn on, then the actionassociated with light end devices 124 will be to turn on. Additionally,if the user has certain room temperature preferences, then thethermostat end device 124 may have an action to cause the temperature tochange to that temperature. When the end device actions are identified,a control signal is sent to each end device 124 requesting them toperform the identified action (step 2116). The signal may be generatedby the router 120 serving the room. However, in a preferred embodiment,the property management system 216 and/or central server 138 generatesuch a message and send the message to the necessary end devices 124 inthe wireless network 104.

When the end devices 124 receive the message to perform the action, theend devices 124 execute the necessary actions (step 2120). This causesthe room system to adapt to the presence of a user in the room.

Referring back to step 2108, in the event that the room status changesfrom occupied to un-occupied, the opposite actions occur. Namely, thecentral server 138 and/or property management system 216 determine whattype of actions should be performed by end devices 124 when the roomstatus is un-occupied (step 2124). When the required actions areidentified, a control signal is transmitted to the necessary end devices124 in the room (step 2128). The un-occupied actions may correspond toenergy saving actions such as turning off lights in the room, closingthe blinds, turning off any HVAC operations, and so forth. Uponreceiving the control signal, the end devices 124 react and execute thenecessary actions to conform to the un-occupied room status (step 2120).

After the end devices 124 have performed the necessary actions, themethod returns to step 2104 until the room status changes again.Otherwise, the status quo of the actions for the end devices 124 ismaintained.

While the above-described flowcharts have been discussed in relation toa particular sequence of events, it should be appreciated that changesto this sequence can occur without materially effecting the operation ofthe invention. Additionally, the exact sequence of events need not occuras set forth in the exemplary embodiments. The exemplary techniquesillustrated herein are not limited to the specifically illustratedembodiments but can also be utilized with the other exemplaryembodiments and each described feature is individually and separatelyclaimable.

The present invention, in various embodiments, includes components,methods, processes, systems and/or apparatus substantially as depictedand described herein, including various embodiments, subcombinations,and subsets thereof. Those of skill in the art will understand how tomake and use the present invention after understanding the presentdisclosure. The present invention, in various embodiments, includesproviding devices and processes in the absence of items not depictedand/or described herein or in various embodiments hereof, including inthe absence of such items as may have been used in previous devices orprocesses, e.g., for improving performance, achieving ease and\orreducing cost of implementation.

Additionally, the systems, methods and protocols of this invention canbe implemented on a special purpose computer, a programmedmicroprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuitelement(s), an ASIC or other integrated circuit, a digital signalprocessor, a hard-wired electronic or logic circuit such as discreteelement circuit, a programmable logic device such as PLD, PLA, FPGA,PAL, a communications device, such as a phone, any comparable means, orthe like. In general, any device capable of implementing a state machinethat is in turn capable of implementing the methodology illustratedherein can be used to implement the various communication methods,protocols and techniques according to this invention.

The foregoing discussion of the invention has been presented forpurposes of illustration and description. The foregoing is not intendedto limit the invention to the form or forms disclosed herein. In theforegoing Detailed Description for example, various features of theinvention are grouped together in one or more embodiments for thepurpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is notto be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the claimed inventionrequires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather,as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than allfeatures of a single foregoing disclosed embodiment. Thus, the followingclaims are hereby incorporated into this Detailed Description, with eachclaim standing on its own as a separate preferred embodiment of theinvention.

Moreover though the description of the invention has includeddescription of one or more embodiments and certain variations andmodifications, other variations and modifications are within the scopeof the invention, e.g., as may be within the skill and knowledge ofthose in the art, after understanding the present disclosure. It isintended to obtain rights which include alternative embodiments to theextent permitted, including alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalentstructures, functions, ranges or steps to those claimed, whether or notsuch alternate, interchangeable and/or equivalent structures, functions,ranges or steps are disclosed herein, and without intending to publiclydedicate any patentable subject matter.

1. A property management system, comprising: one or more end devices,each end device comprising a wireless output and an input for monitoringconditions about the end device; a parent wireless device comprising awireless input for receiving data from the one or more end devices andan output, wherein the parent wireless device is associated with a fixednumber of the one or more end devices such that the associated enddevices are operable to send at least one of status and activityinformation to the parent wireless device, and wherein the parentwireless device is operable to send control signals to the associatedend devices thereby controlling actions of the end devices, and whereinthe associated end devices are dedicated to communicating with theparent wireless device as long as the parent wireless device isoperative.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the parent wireless devicecomprises a wireless output for re-transmitting the received data fromthe associated end devices to another wireless device and forre-transmitting control signals received from another wireless device tothe associated end devices.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein a powersaving wireless communication protocol is employed to transmit messagesbetween the one or more end devices and the parent wireless device. 4.The system of claim 1, wherein a ZigBee communication protocol isemployed to wirelessly communicate data to and from the one or more enddevices.
 5. The system of claim 4, wherein a beacon type ZigBeecommunication protocol is employed.
 6. The system of claim 4, wherein anon-beacon type ZigBee communication protocol is employed.
 7. The systemof claim 1, wherein the end devices associated with the parent deviceare associated with a common room, and wherein the parent device servesat least the common room.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein a firstsubset of the associated end devices are associated with a first roomand a second subset of the associated end devices are associated with asecond room, and wherein the parent devices serves both the first andsecond subsets.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein a first subset of theone or more end devices communicate with their parent wireless deviceusing a channel on a Radio Frequency (RF) bandwidth and wherein a secondsubset of the one or more end devices communicate with their parentwireless device using a second channel on the RF bandwidth.
 10. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the one or more enddevices comprise memory operable to store transmitted messages andwherein the end devices are operable to recall the messages from memoryupon request in order to retransmit the message to the intendedrecipient.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein when the messagecomprises a control message, the intended recipient is a child wirelessdevice and when the message comprises at least one of an activity andstatus message, the intended recipient is the parent wireless device.12. The system of claim 10, further comprising a central server operableto communicate with the one or more end devices via the parent wirelessdevice, wherein the central server is operable to monitor messagestransmitted by the one or more wireless devices, analyze the messagestransmitted by the one or more wireless devices to ensure that all ofthe messages transmitted by the one or more wireless devices arereceived by the parent wireless device and the central server, andrequest that messages be retransmitted by the one or more wireless enddevice if it is determined that a message was not received.
 13. A methodof operating a multi-room facility, comprising: detecting activity at afirst end device, wherein the first end device is associated with afirst room; generating a first message comprising information related tothe detected activity; wirelessly transmitting the first message fromthe first end device to a second wireless device, wherein the secondwireless device and first end devices are within a first common wirelesstransmission area; the second wireless device wirelessly retransmittingthe first message to a third wireless device, wherein the third wirelessdevice is associated with a second room; and forwarding the firstmessage to a central server.
 14. The method of claim 13, furthercomprising: determining at least one action to be performed by the firstend device in response to the detected activity; generating a secondmessage comprising control information related to the determined atleast one action; transmitting the second message to the third wirelessdevice; the third wireless device wirelessly retransmitting the secondmessage to the second wireless device; the second wireless devicewirelessly retransmitting the second message to the first end device;and the first end device performing the at least one action.
 15. Themethod of claim 13, further comprising: determining at least one actionto be performed by a second end device in response to the detectedactivity; generating a third message comprising control informationrelated to the determined at least one action; transmitting the thirdmessage to a fourth wireless device; the fourth wireless devicewirelessly retransmitting the third message to the second end device;and the second end device performing the at least one action.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the fourth wireless device is the same asthe second wireless device.
 17. The method of claim 15, wherein thefourth wireless device is different from the second and third wirelessdevices and wherein the fourth wireless device is associated with asecond room.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein a ZigBee communicationprotocol is employed to wirelessly transmit the first message betweenwireless devices.
 19. The method of claim 13, wherein the first enddevice transmits activity messages exclusively to the second wirelessdevice as long as the second wireless device is active and wherein thesecond wireless device transmits activity messages exclusively to thethird wireless device and receives control messages exclusively from thethird wireless device as long as the third wireless device is active.